Switched local area networks use a network switch for supplying data frames between network stations, where each network station is connected to the network switch by a media. The switched local area network architecture uses a media access control (MAC) enabling a network interface card to access the media. The network switch passes data frames received from a transmitting station to a destination station based on the header information in the received data frame.
Networks typically will include a management agent that monitors activity by a hub or repeater. The management agent may include analysis and/or diagnostic equipment and may be concerned with statistical information related to the network in order to identify how well a network is being utilized. Such statistical information may include what types of packets are on the network, what protocols are being used on the network, the packet sender identity, the packet receiver identity, and the distribution of the packet lengths being transferred on the network.
Network repeaters will typically send management information to the management agent on a MAC layer protocol. For example, commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,486 discloses a repeater that compares a destination address of a received data packet with a destination address corresponding to a management unit address. The data packet is compressed if the stored address does not match the destination address following transmission of the received data packet where transmission of the data packet to the management unit is halted once the counted number of bytes matches a stored number of bytes. A valid frame check sequence (FCS) is then provided at the end of the compressed data packet.
Commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,803 also provides a MAC-layer transmission of received data packets to a management unit, where the data portion of a received data packet is transferred by a repeater to a management unit. Statistical information is then appended to the data portion following transmission of the received data packet during an interpacket gap interval.
As the repeater is sending management frames to the management agent, the management agent may be attempting to send data for the host management agent is responsible for controlling and configuring the repeater. Hence, attempts to provide configuration information from the host to the repeater may result in a reduction of bandwidth due to the contention between the repeater and the host, each attempting to exchange management information and configuration information across the respective MACs.